This invention relates to an information providing system, an information providing apparatus and an information providing method as well as a data recording medium for use with an electric equipment, and more particularly to an information providing system, an information providing apparatus and an information providing method as well as a data recording medium wherein an electronic pet (hereinafter referred to as “character”) which is an imaginary living body can be used as a communication tool to collect and store information of a plurality of electric equipments, output the stored information, extract unique information from a user, provide useful information to the user based on the information unique to the user and exchange information with others.
A plurality of electric equipments are usually connected to each other to transfer data between them in an ordinary home. For example, a television set and digital camera are connected to each other the plug such that a video picked up using the digital camera is displayed on the television screen, or a video picked up using a video camera is fetched into and edited on a personal computer. The hot plug is a plug having a hot swap function and allows, for example, additional connection or disconnection of a hard disk or a peripheral equipment of a computer while the power supply to the computer remains connected. As such hot plugs, hot plugs compliant with the IEEE 1394 standards, the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standards and so forth are conventionally known.
Particularly at present, standardized specifications for a hot plug are available, and hot plugs which allow transfer of a large amount of data have been developed and allow simple connection and data transfer between a plurality of electric equipments.
However, if plural equipments between which data are to be transferred are located at places spaced away from each other such as a living room and a bed room even in the same house or if it is intended to output data at a place at which an equipment from which data are to be transferred such as, for example, a video camera is not present, then, for example, a video camera or a digital camera body must be carried to the place at which data are to be outputted and connected to a television set or the like as an outputting apparatus so that data are outputted from the outputting apparatus.
Since an equipment from which data are to be signaled must conventionally be carried in this manner, time is required therefor. Further, such carrying of an equipment gives rise to another disadvantage that the equipment being carried may be dropped and damaged or the equipment may be left at the place to which it was carried and therefore is looked for in order to use it subsequently.
Not only a user can go to a place at which information is to be outputted so that information may be outputted as described above, but also it is possible at present for the user to transfer data to a remote place while the user remains at home thanks to popularization of communication networks such as the Internet. In this instance, however, the user must fetch data once into a personal computer and transmit the data after the data are compressed if necessary.
In this manner, according to the prior art, a user is required to have some knowledge of a personal computer regarding transmission/reception of data and is obliged to spend considerable time. Therefore, countermeasures for allowing data to be transferred more simply and easily are demanded.
Further, a plurality of electric equipments are often connected to each other in a home or the like, and the user sometimes uses a hot plug to newly connect a different electric equipment or disconnect one of the electric equipments without being particularly conscious of the connection geometry. Therefore, the user cannot sometimes grasp which plural electric equipments are connected to one another. Particularly, when the user is enjoying a drama of a video tape or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) on a television set, if information having no relation to the drama such as, for example, information of serious news is generated, then the information cannot be acquired disadvantageously unless the playback of the drama from the video tape or DVD is stopped. Further, for example, when a user is enjoying a baseball game on a television set, if the user changes the television channel intermediately to newly enjoy an animation, then the user cannot acquire information regarding the baseball game disadvantageously.
Also switching on-off of a switch of an electric equipment in a home sometimes gives rise to a problem. In particular, with regard to an electric equipment which usually displays a screen or generates sound such as a television set, the problem that the user misses to disconnect the power supply to the electric equipment does not occur very likely because the user can visually or audibly recognize such a screen or sound. However, with regard to another electric equipment which does not involve such screen display or sound generation, the user may possibly miss to disconnect the power supply disadvantageously. Therefore, when the user goes out, the user is likely to disconnect the power supply to a television set and the like, but after the user goes out, the user may possibly feel anxiety about such missing to disconnect the power supply to some other electric equipment.
Further, many people in the society at present feel some stress, and personality, videos and music of the type by which such stresses are likely to be cured are accepted widely in the society. Also to keep a pet effectively calms down the heart of the keeping person. However, those people who want but cannot keep a pet from a residential limitation are increasing.